Peterson, Christopher J.Abohelwa, MostafaRimu, AfrinaPayne, DrewYang, ShengpingWilliams, TammyRowin, Erin NashNugent, Kenneth2023-02-102023-02-102023-02-03Peterson, C.J.; Abohelwa, M.; Rimu, A.; Payne, D.; Yang, S.; Williams, T.; Rowin, E.N.; Nugent, K. COVID-19 Vaccination Attitude and Behavior among Nurses at a West Texas Regional Hospital. Vaccines 2023, 11, 343.http://hdl.handle.net/10919/113784Vaccinations against COVID-19 infection have become a contentious issue in the United States. Multiple segments of society, including healthcare workers, have expressed concerns regarding the need for vaccination and the safety of current vaccines. Many hospital-based nurses have helped care for patients with severe COVID-19 infections. An anonymous online survey was sent to the nursing staff at University Medical Center in Lubbock, TX, USA, through a hospital-based email system to determine vaccination status and attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccine and other routine vaccines. Multivariable regression analysis was used to determine factors associated with vaccination. A total of 251 nurses responded to this survey; 211 nurses (83.7%) had received the vaccine. Almost all nurses (242, 96%) had received all childhood vaccinations, and 231 (91.7%) had received an influenza vaccination in the prior year. A minority of nurses (75, 29.8%) supported mandatory vaccination for healthcare workers. The reasons for declining vaccination included the possibility that diet and alternative medications provided better protection against COVID-19. This survey demonstrates that over 80% of nurses working in a hospital managing very sick patients with COVID-19 infection had been vaccinated. However, nurses who did not take the annual influenza vaccine and did not consider other protective measures useful (such as mask-wearing) were significantly less likely to vaccinate. Nurses can provide an important resource for conversations with the public and patients about vaccine initiatives.application/pdfenCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 InternationalvaccinationCOVID-19vaccine hesitancynursesArticle - Refereed2023-02-10https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines11020343